Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, it should be a pretty nice weekend for MuskyFest.  Mid to upper 70s this weekend and then mother nature really cranks the heat up.  I am seeing 90 for Monday and then 80s the rest of the week.  The lows are not getting very low as they look to stay in the 60s all week.  I am seeing some chances of rain Tuesday through Friday with the highest chance on Thursday.  Surely water temps will jump as well which will be good for some species and not so good for others.  With the rain and cool days/nights we have had water temps hovering around the mid 60s from what most folks are telling me.  Fishing has been decent overall, and we filled up our first musky board which is a great sign for how the season should go.

Musky–The musky bite has been good, and anglers are catching fish on jerkbaits, glide baits, bucktails, and minnow/twitch baits.  On most of the lakes in the area, ripping these baits over or through the cabbage, or running baits along the deep weed edges seem to be producing catches.  If water temps rise like I think they might, anglers may see fish push onto deeper structure over the next week.

Pike–Northern pike are still hitting everything that swims by them.  Smaller bucktails, spinnerbaits, and all manner of bass and musky sized baits are catching pike.  Work baits through weeds, both shallow and deep that top out on mid lake reefs, extend from points, or fill up bays.

Walleye–With the cooler water temps we have had, walleye seem to be related to shallower water than a typical “summer” pattern.  Look for ‘eyes on top of the structure, especially in low light conditions.  As water temps rise anglers may find walleye suspended off of the deep edges or pushed down into the water column off of deep structure or suspended out over deep basins.  Jig and leech combos have been working, as have jerk/minnow baits worked over humps and reefs to catch walleye.

LMB–The bass bite has slowed down significantly with these cooler water temps, but they should really fire up over the next week.  Anglers should focus on two presentations in my opinion…..top water baits or plastic worms worked over or through shallow weeds.  Any top water bite anglers can get are some of the most fun in fishing.  It doesn’t get much better than seeing a fish explode out of the water to eat your bait!

SMB–Anglers have seen some smallies lately and they have been chasing baits higher in the water column.  I had one angler tell me they had a nice sized smallie follow in their glide bait while they were musky fishing.  Anglers should work the entire water column for smallies right now as some will be related to deeper structure and others are up on top of structure.  Top water baits, or jig/plastic and livebait combos will all work to catch smallies right now.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–All of the panfish are related to weed beds/shoreline structure/  or docks.  Crappie seem to be somewhat scattered in weed beds anywhere from 6-10 FOW, with perch mixed in or on the deepest edge.  Crappie minnows or small bladed jigs/spinners seem to be working great for crappie and perch right now.  Gills are up in shallow weeds, around docks, and up in shallow timber from deadfall trees on the shorelines.  It’s tough to beat a crawler under a float for summer gills.

That is all I have for this week’s report.  Going to be a busy weekend/week and the lakes will surely be full of all manner of summer recreation if we see temps into the 90s!  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, a “cool” week to officially start summer as we will see temps topping out in the low 70s.  Cool nights in the 40s and 50s and some more chances of rain mid week will certainly help keep water temps down.  From what I am hearing, water temps are anywhere from the mid to upper 60s on most lakes right now, and with the couple inches of rain we had this past week, water levels on the lakes should be in good shape as well.  Fishing has been pretty good with many species getting active in the cooler water.

Musky–Musky action has picked up and our first musky board at the bait shop is about three-quarters full.  Anglers are catching all sizes of musky right now which is great to see and they are catching them on faster moving baits, such as bucktails and spoons.  Baits such as Mepps #5s on the smaller end of the bucktail spectrum all the way up to double 8s and 10s are catching fish right now.  Work these baits in and around weeds, off of main lake points, bays, and bars.  Pro tip–Have another rod rigged up with slower moving baits such as gliders or dive and rise jerkbaits to throw back at following fish that didn’t commit to the faster moving option.

Northern Pike–Pike action has been consistent on pretty much everything from plastic worms, to live bait, to crank/stick baits.  Work shallow to mid depth weeds for pike right now.  

Walleye–The walleye bite has been pretty good lately with anglers finding nice fish on typical “summer spots”.  On some lakes in our area that is deep weed edges, and others that is deeper rocky areas.  If using live bait leeches on jigs either under a slip bobber or just vertically jigged are great choices to go after dinner or trophy fish.  Jerkbaits such as Berkley hit sticks or Rapala countdowns or husky jerks can be excellent worked through weeds.  Look for walleye anywhere from 8-15 FOW on lakes with more of a weed bite, and work anywhere from 12-20 FOW on lakes with a deeper/clear water rock bite.

LMB–The largemouth bite has slowed down a little bit, most likely due to the water temps cooling down.  Anglers should fish slightly deeper in the water column or closer to the bottom of shallow weeds to target bass right now.  Spinnerbaits are always a good choice and stay pretty weedless through the water.  Wacky rigged plastic worms can be excellent too, just let them sink to the bottom and sort of slowly jig them back to the boat or shore.

SMB–Smallies have been active, and anglers are having luck with simple jig/plastic or jig/live bait set ups.  Work these baits anywhere from 4-12 FOW or deeper depending on the lake and structure they favor.  I am not sure if the topwater bite for smallies has started yet, but in recent years we have had a few week window in early summer where anglers absolutely crush smallies on top water baits such as Whopper Ploppoers or poppers.  

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Anglers will find all manner of panfish up in weeds, around fallen timber/cribs, or underneath and around docks.  Nightcrawlers and leaf worms take up a bulk of the duties catching panfish throughout summer off of docks and the shallowest structure, while minnows still get the bill for crappie/perch that are scattered in and off of deeper weed edges.  Jig/plastic combos have really become more prominent in the panfish game as well and anglers should have success using them on those same pieces of structure as well.

That is all I have for this week’s report.  A wonderful start to summer in my book, as anyone that knows me knows I am not a fan of 90 degree heat…Have a great weekend, enjoy the long days and we will talk soon.

Greg